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Avodah Zarah 56b

עבודה זרה נ״ו ע״ב

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Topic

רב הונא and the returned basket, whether ניצוק is a חיבור, the six-year-old's ruling on treading grapes with a נכרי, and שמואל's delayed ruling in נהרדעא

Overview

The amud opens by closing the earlier discussion. Since רבא does not treat wine as a special case, he reads the sources as a dispute among three תנאים. Next the גמרא quotes the משנה's rule that only the wine already in the collection vat (בור) is forbidden. רב הונא limits this rule: if the wicker basket (גרגותני) is put back into the winepress, the wine left in the press becomes forbidden too. The גמרא tries to prove from this that a poured stream (ניצוק) joins two liquids. It rejects that proof with רבי חייא's case of the flask: the vat may simply have filled up until it touched the basket. Then comes the story of a brilliant six-year-old who ruled that one may tread grapes with a נכרי if his hands are tied, because touching wine with the foot is not ניסוך. Finally, the גמרא tells of a case in נהרדעא where a Jew and a נכרי trod wine together, and שמואל held off ruling for three רגלים. The גמרא begins to ask why he waited, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וּלְרָבָא, דְּלָא שָׁאנֵי לֵיהּ,

And according to Rava, for whom it is not different,

מוֹקֵים לֵיהּ כִּתְלָתָא תַּנָּאֵי.

he explains it as following three tannaim.

מַה שֶּׁבַּבּוֹר אָסוּר וְהַשְּׁאָר מוּתָּר.

What is in the vat is forbidden, and the rest is permitted.

אָמַר רַב הוּנָא:

Rav Huna said:

The steps (14)

  1. ConclusionHow רבא explains the earlier dispute
  2. Statementרב הונא limits the משנה: the returned basket
  3. QuestionHow did the basket's wine become forbidden?
  4. ProofProof that a poured stream connects
  5. RejectionRejected: the vat filled up to the basket
  6. QuestionThe six-year-old is asked about treading with a non-Jew
  7. ResponseThe child permits treading with a non-Jew
  8. ChallengeBut he makes it a libation with his hands
  9. ResolutionWe tie his hands
  10. ChallengeBut he makes it a libation with his foot
  11. ResolutionTouching with the foot is not a libation
  12. StatementThe incident in נהרדעא: שמואל delays his ruling
  13. QuestionWhy did שמואל delay?
  14. ResponseA first suggested reason begins